Feed humans first

Hunger is caused by poverty and inequality, not scarcity. For the past two decades, the rate of global food production has increased faster than the rate of global population growth. The world already produces more than 1 ½ times enough food to feed everyone on the planet. That’s enough to feed 10 billion people, the population peak we expect by 2050. But the people making less than $2 a day — most of whom are resource-poor farmers cultivating unviably small plots of land — can’t afford to buy this food.

In reality, the bulk of industrially-produced grain crops goes to biofuels and confined animal feedlots rather than food for the 1 billion hungry. The call to double food production by 2050 only applies if we continue to prioritize the growing population of livestock and automobiles over hungry people.Go to story

With the average yield ratios, we modeled the global food supply that could be grown organically on the current agricultural land base. Model estimates indicate that organic methods could produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without increasing the agricultural land base. Go to story

Blame hunger not on shortage of food, but on the cost of diverting food grains for livestock and ethanol.

excerpt from conversation, Atlanta, March 2, 1975:
SVARUP DAMODAR: They have several plans to procure food from under the water, under the ocean. So they have all of these different schemes already started. Because the shortage of food on the surface of the earth… They say it’s going to be very imminent in the coming future. So they have already started plans to make some food…

PRABHUPADA: Another nonsense. They are not producing food; they are producing motor tires, and still they will say “shortage.” Just see. Now, in this city of Atlanta or any big, big city, who is producing food? Everyone is eating; nobody is producing.

SVARUP DAMODAR: They will say it is produced by farmers.

PRABHUPADA: Farmers are producing, and you are eating, but you are not producing. Therefore gradually your food will be shortage. You are depending on others. The farmers, they do not produce food for human being. They produce food for the cows.

SVARUP DAMODAR: For the cows?

PRABHUPADA: Yes. You do not know this? These rascals produce for the animals, not for human.